Drinking among South Korean adults hit an all-time high last year, while the smoking rate edged down to a record low, a poll showed Tuesday.
The drinking rate for adults — those who drink once or more per month — rose to a record high of 60.8 percent last year, up from 59.5 percent tallied in 2013, according to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health & Welfare on 220,000 adults nationwide.
The figure had been on the rise since the ministry began compiling relevant data in 2008.
The overall smoking rate, which had been trending lower since 2009, fell to a new low of 24 percent last year, down 0.2 percentage point from the previous year.
The smoking rate for male adults dropped to 45.3 percent last year from the previous year’s 45.8 percent.
Other indicators of health, including those regarding exercise and obesity rates, turned for the worse over the cited period.
The rate of exercise, or those who take a 30-minute walk at least five times per week, fell 3.3 percentage points on-year to 37.5 percent last year.
The portion of obese adults rose to 25.3 percent last year from the previous year’s 24.5 percent, according to the survey. (Yonhap)
